weak from him and his camp. All we wanted was an appearance. As a spectator in Melbourne, this is a major disappointment, but expected coming from a guy with a severe case of hypochondria. Ferrer now fourth seed, which means one section of the draw will have all to play for. Ferrer is such a weak fourth seed, that is the type of gap that rafa is leaving with his absence.

weak from him and his camp. All we wanted was an appearance. As a spectator in Melbourne, this is a major disappointment, but expected coming from a guy with a severe case of hypochondria. Ferrer now fourth seed, which means one section of the draw will have all to play for. Ferrer is such a weak fourth seed, that is the type of gap that rafa is leaving with his absence.

his knee is still in bad shape. dont know why he doesnt ever learn. he went right back to the hard courts when he returned to practice after 6 months.

now he is going to get his ass handed to him even in acapulco. and that is if he shows up there.

Emma, what you call Rafa's 'scripted game' is the most awe-inspiring display of clay-court tennis domination that the world has ever seen!

Uncle Toni has meticulously crafted this Bionic Man, that we call Rafa, in just this manner, so that he can take maximum advantage of physical strength, technique and the playing surface [clay].. Rafa is the foremost clay-court player of his generation, even all time, and Emma, I know you agree!

This season will be interesting though.. With Nadal hopefully back playing in February, Djokovic, the clear No.2 player on clay, in the past 2 seasons, and Murray stepping up as a multiple-Slam contender, things will be very interesting this spring, in my opinion.

No, actually I don't agree because it's strictly a matter of opinion that lies in the eyes of the beholder. Rafa's game on clay is very scripted and robotic. That's mostly because he doesn't face different challenges year in year out, so he doesnít feel the need to change it even slightly, so as a result, it becomes boring and predictable just like Federer's scripted game since 2003. Thereís nothing new about it and no thought process is ever involved. Very primitive and reptilian. Quick reflection and attack, attack, attack without an ounce of thought. Had he put some thoughts into his game, he would have turned things around against Nadal, but that never happens and will never happen. Nadalís clay game would have been under a lot of threats as well but as Iíve mentioned, he was never faced the adversities except for one time from Soderling. It made a difference on that day. There were only a few times when Federer put some thoughts into his game but typically itís very rare. Nadal is more thoughtful on other surfaces especially on hard courts. Thatís why I enjoy his game much more so on hards. I typically avoid his matches on clay unless I have to Ė like when heís up against either Andy or Nole.

To watch Rafa on clay, is to watch the foremost clay-court tennis player in history!! That is just the opinion of Navratilova! I consider that endorsement good enough : ) Anyways, beauty, excellence is indeed, in the fan's eyes.. So, where I see aesthetic beauty combined with brilliant stroke-play [Federer], you might experience drudgery!! When 'Plan A' is working, it is indeed rare to see a player try 'Plan B'!

I don't like clay and beauty is subjective. Don't care what Navratilova says. As a wise man once said, show me the most beautiful woman in the world and I will show the man who go tired of sleeping with her. Federer's plan A never worked against Nadal and most times against Murray. He doesn't have a Plan B let alone execute it. He's pretty brainless when it comes to his own game. Frankly, I don't find him very intelligent anyway. I am not sure about Nadal either.

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When the night comes with the action, I just know it's time to goCan't resist the strange attraction from that giant dynamo...